CASC - Tiangong-1 Mission patch.
March 27, 2018
The end of Tiangong-1, the Chinese station out of control since the end of 2016, is near. It should hit the ground between March 29th and April 3rd.
Tiangong-1
According to legend, at Easter, eggs made of sugar or chocolate would fall bells for the delight of little gourmands.
This year, in addition to treats, it's a space station that will fall from the sky. Indeed, it has been several months since Tiangong-1, owned by the Chinese space agency, began its descent on earth. The only problem, since the end of 2016 the "Heaven Palace", its English name, is out of control.
If we mentioned southern Europe as an impact point, it seems risky to say exactly where the machine will land. However, we know more or less when. Last Thursday, the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes, France) and the European Space Agency (Esa) raised a window between March 29 and April 3. Probably March 31, according to experts. Precisions should be further refined in the coming weeks, says the daily Sud Ouest.
Not enough to panic
Tiangong-1 radar images
As for the location of the impact, the uncertainty will be up to the last 24 hours preceding the entry into the atmosphere of the space station. "The inclination of the orbit of the Chinese station is about 42.8 degrees, explains South West Stéphane Christy, expert at the National Center for Space Studies of Toulouse. This means that if we project this orbit on a planisphere, the land area on which the object will fall is a band between latitudes - 42.8 ° and + 42.8 °.
Tiangong-1 radar images
Although Tiangong-1 is a big cylinder of about 10 meters long for 8.5 tons, there is nothing to worry about. Citing a NASA report from 2011, the French newspaper recalls in particular that the probability that space debris affects a human being to about 1 in 3,200.
Related articles:
Chinese space station risks crashing in France
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2018/03/chinese-space-station-risks-crashing-in.html
Uncontrolled crash on Earth of a Chinese space station
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2017/10/uncontrolled-crash-on-earth-of-chinese.html
Related link:
Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR: https://www.fhr.fraunhofer.de/en.html
Images , Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: DRI/CASC/Fraunhofer FHR/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
